Lightworks is the video editor of choice in Hollywood! Many directors use it to set up their films on the big screen.
But while it has an advanced text editor, Lightworks can lack fast and efficient features for creating subtitles.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the ways to add subtitles in Lightworks.
Here’s the short answer: Lightworks does not have a built-in auto-subtitling feature.
Unlike some modern video editors, Lightworks doesn’t include an automatic transcription tool or voice recognition system that can turn your audio into subtitles automatically. So, if you want captions, you’ll need to either add them manually — or create them externally and import the file.
That said, Lightworks does let you create subtitles using text overlays inside the timeline. This gives you full control over the position, appearance, and timing of your captions — but it’s a completely manual process.
Lightworks doesn’t have a dedicated “subtitle” tool, but you can create captions using its built-in Text effect.
It takes time — but gives you full control over the look and timing of every line.
Here’s how to do it step by step.
Start by opening your video project in Lightworks.
Once your video is on the timeline, click the VFX tab at the top of the interface. This is where all the visual effects and text tools live.
The VFX tab gives you a separate workspace where you can edit graphics, overlays, and — in this case — subtitles.
To create your first subtitle:
This creates a text layer that sits on top of your footage.
Double-click the text box in the preview window to type your subtitle.
Once your text is in place, use the settings in the Effects panel to adjust:
Keep your subtitles short and clear. Aim for one to two lines max, and avoid cluttering the screen.
Now that your text is styled, it’s time to match it to the dialogue.
Repeat the process for every new line of dialogue.
It’s manual — but with practice, it becomes easier to keep your flow.
Once all your subtitles are added, play back the full video.
Check for:
Make any final timing or style adjustments before exporting.
Lightworks allows you to import external subtitle files and add them to your video timeline.
Accepted formats include:
.srt (SubRip Subtitle).ass (Advanced SubStation Alpha).vtt (WebVTT)To import your subtitle file:
Lightworks will add the subtitles as a separate track on your timeline.
Manually creating subtitles in Lightworks is doable — but let’s be honest, it’s a grind.
That’s why using a tool like Checksub can completely change the game. With AI-powered transcription, clean subtitle formatting, and instant exports, it gives you everything you need — and saves you hours of editing.
Start by heading to checksub.com. Log in or create a free account.
Click on “Upload Video”, then select your file. Checksub supports all major formats, so you won’t need to convert beforehand.
Next, choose the original language of the video. Want to add subtitles in other languages too? You can do that during or after transcription.
Once your video is uploaded, Checksub’s AI will automatically:
This usually takes just a few minutes, depending on the video’s length.
No typing. No manual syncing. Just ready-to-edit subtitles.
Even the best AI can miss a word or two — especially with fast speech, background noise, or accents.
So Checksub gives you a subtitle editor where you can:
You see the video as you edit, so syncing is super precise.
Once you’re done reviewing, click Export and choose .srt format — the most compatible option for Lightworks.
You can also customize how your subtitles look if you want to burn them into the video later (font, size, color, background).
Checksub gives you a clean, correctly formatted file — so you don’t have to worry about errors when importing into Lightworks.
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